#TENNIS AUSTRIAL OPEN DAY4 REVIEW! Concern over conditions again took centre stage on day four of the Australian Open as surprise results were in short supply. Andy Murray was among the leading seeds to reach the last 32, and until Juan Martin del Potros defeat late into the night the greatest chance of a shock came from a spectacular thunderstorm which briefly halted play on another sweltering day. Tournament organisers also implemented their heat policy after mounting pressure from players, calling competitors off outside courts as temperatures hit 42 degrees celsius. The show-court roofs were closed to compensate, but out among the hoi polloi the mercury was still threatening the 40-degree mark when play resumed, and players again struggled to cope with the oppressive heat. Jamie Murray was treated for heatstroke after a successful mens doubles outing, and Varvara Lepchenko called the doctor on court on her way to a second-round defeat. Maria Sharapova, meanwhile, claimed she had been close to passing out during an epic win over Karin Knapp. The No 3 seed in the womens draw came through 10-8 in a deciding set in what was by a long way the tightest scrape encountered by a top womens player on Thursday. Champion Victoria Azarenka could afford 18 unforced errors as she easily saw off Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, while progress for the big hitters in the mens draw was similarly sedate. Murray - at far from peak form - coasted into a two-set lead against Vincent Millot and pulled himself together in the third to recover from 5-1 down and wrap up a straight-sets win. Feliciano Lopez is next up for Murray, who is still on course to meet Roger Federer in the quarter-finals and Rafa Nadal in the last four. Both Federer and Nadal were straight-sets winners, and Jo- Wilfried Tsonga encountered little alarm against Thomaz Bellucci as he moved closer to a fourth- round meeting with Murray. Not so fifth seed del Potro who, with the clock showing 1.20 am, succumbed to Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut in a five-setter. The locals who hung around that long had endured a rare bleak day for Aussie sports supporters this winter, as Thanasi Kokkinakis and Olivia Rogowska became the latest home players to exit the tournament.
Posted on: Thu, 16 Jan 2014 20:39:17 +0000
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